In Today’s Journal
* My Quote of the Day
* The Bradbury Challenge Report
* A New Short Story (Reminder)
* Two Big Things
* Mentorship Slots Available
* Up Next
* Of Interest
My Quote of the Day
“In fiction writing, if you master the technique, the content will take care of itself.”
The Bradbury Challenge Report
Participating in any challenge is a great way to have fun and grow as a writer.
The requirement is to write at least one short story per week, then let me know the title, word count, and genre per the format below. During the past week, the following writers wrote these new stories:
- Erin Donoho “NM Horse Outfit” 3300 mystery
- Vanessa V. Kilmer “Burned Earth” 3241 Romance
- Christopher Ridge “The Body in the Back” 1437 thriller
- KC Riggs “Stripped Threads” 1831 General Fiction
- Dave Taylor “The Old Minolta” 2,104 Magic Realism
Congratulations to all of these writers.
A New Short Story (Reminder)
As I initially announced on Thursday, “The Pity of William Trevor” went live on Saturday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack.
The idea to write this very intense, very personal stand-alone short story came from the opening of one of my Wes Crowley series of books, but this story isn’t a western.
Go check it out. It’s free. Only one story left after this one!
Two Big Things
excerpted from an email I recently sent a writer friend and mentorship student:
One, try never to use any version or tense of the sense verbs when talking about the character (see/saw/could see and the same for hear, smell, taste, touch, feel, and know). Every time you do that, you’re intruding on the story unnecessarily. Any questions about this, ask me.
The character’s actually IN the story, actually living it. You’re only along as an invisible observer. Your job is only to present the story, not to affect it or intrude on it.
Two, as I talked about recently in TNDJ, relax and Take Your Time in storytelling so you’ll be less likely to leave anything out.
And if you omit something intentionally, let the reader know that too with a scene break to indicate a passage of time and/or change of scene. I personally use a centered asterisk as a scene break Again, any questions about this, ask me.
Mentorship Slots Available
I’m an accomplished professional writer willing to share my knowledge with writers who want to cut their learning curve and are serious about improving their craft.
Note: I won’t offer opinions. A mentorship isn’t about whether I personally ‘like’ or ‘don’t like’ a story. Besides, as I’ve said many times, only the eventual readers’ opinions matter anyway.
The cost of a mentorship with me is still only $30 per month on a month-by-month basis payable either via PayPal or by personal check. And yes, I’m aware this is ridiculously inexpensive.
For comparison, Dean Wesley Smith charges $3000 for a one-year mentorship (so $250 per month). Of course, if you actually use it, that’s fine—hey, it isn’t my place to tell you how to spend your money—but most people treat a writing mentorship in the same way they treat a gym membership.
So my mentorship is worth several times what I’m charging. The low cost was intentional. It’s my way of paying forward what I’ve learned. I suggest you take advantage of it.
If you’re serious about learning, I can also guarantee you won’t need a mentorship with me for more than a few months tops.
Because I want only serious students, I’ve changed the requirements a little:
- You MUST send me, via email attachment in .doc, .docx, or .rtf a sample of your writing—either a short story or a novel or novella opening—along with any specific questions you want me to address.
- I’ll conduct a critique of your story or opening and get it back to you within a day or three.
- After you’ve received the critique and read my imbedded comments, ideally we’ll conduct a back-and-forth about your story, the critique, etc. to be sure you’re learning the concepts.
- I’m open to questions throughout the process.
Please, serious students only. If you’re serious about learning, I’ll take the time to teach you. If you aren’t serious about learning, our exchange won’t be worth your money or my time.
Technique Is Everything.
In fiction writing, if you master the technique, the content will take care of itself.
So in my critiques or assessments, I’ll always talk about what I call the reader-magnet techniques of storytelling: cliffhangers and hooks, levels of necessary description, the five senses, realistic vs. stilted dialogue, punctuation, pacing, and more.
Can you do this on your own?
Absolutely. Pick up a copy of Writing Better Fiction, or if you already have it open and read it.
Then apply and/or ask me questions about what you find there. But if you’re serious about improving your craft quickly and want real-time one-on-one attention, a mentorship might be right for you. If you’re interested, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
Up Next
“Two Important Notes,” one regarding Draft2Digital (whether you’ve signed up yet or not) and one regarding Craig Martelle’s book, Become A Successful Indie Author.
The second note includes a link to a free audio version of his book and links to the paperback and Kindle versions.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
Dr. Mardy’s Quotes of the Week: “Spring”